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An elderly Florida fisherman trying to flee a massive 12-foot alligator slipped and fell moments before the beast clamped onto his leg and dragged him into the water, according to a report.
Steven Hamilton, 71, a seasoned angler and Orlando musician, was posing for a photo with a fresh bass along Lake Apopka at Dr. Bradford Memorial Park when he heard the monster gator creeping out of the water just feet away, the Daily Mail reported.
Hamilton turned to run but lost his footing on the shoreline — giving the predator the split second it needed to latch onto his left leg and yank him under, a witness told the outlet.
“He heard the gator come out of the water and started to run away,” Jason Handley, 37, said.
“He slipped and fell, and the gator grabbed him and dragged him into the water. It just snatched him in there,” he continued.
Handley said that several people attempted to save Hamilton by chucking traffic cones at the alligator — but they stayed away because the lake is “infested” with alligators, some of which are up to 15 feet in length.
Handley himself had a close encounter with an alligator at the park a couple of days before Hamilton was attacked.
“It was right by my foot, but I bonked it on the head with a fishing net,” he said.
“I told my girlfriend, somebody is going to get ate by one of these gators.”